Your (future) furry friend needs a place to live. Although they are roughly the same size, a ferret is nothing like a rodent. They have different needs in feeding, handling them, and of course, in the setup for their cage. To learn what a ferret needs to make a fun, safe, and cozy home, start with step 1 below.

Steps

1

Get a cage. The first and most important part for a good set up, is the cage itself. Ferrets are hyperactive animals and like to jump around. A proper cage should have at least one square meter (+/- 10 sq. ft.) of horizontal surface to walk on. For the height of the cage, you will need to look at the ferret that is going to live in it. The ferret should be able to stand on its hind legs and stretch out without hitting the roof of the cage.

If you don't know the size of your ferret (yet), you can say the height of the cage should be around 50 centimeters (+/- 19,5 inch). This is the minimum for a good ferret cage. Some stores or websites might present smaller cages as specifically designed for ferrets, but these really are too small. Stick to one square meter and fifty centimeters, and you have a decently sized cage.

2

Buy furnishings. A ferret needs a place to sleep, to eat and drink, and to do his business.

A hammock, blankets, or something else comfortable to sleep on/in.

A food bowl and a water bowl/bottle. Ferrets love to redecorate, so you might want to get a food bowl that cannot be moved around. Same goes for the water bowl.

Ferrets can be potty trained, so getting a litterbox is advisable. Get a low one, so it's easy to step in and out. A litterbox for young kittens is the best.

3

Set up the space. You now have everything you need to accommodate a ferret. But now you need to actually set it all up. Hang up the hammocks, fill the litterbox and where to put that waterbottle?

With any item you add to the cage, if you can attach it to the cage, do it! Your ferret will love the sight of his food and litter flying around, but it's far less fun for you to clean it all up.

Ferrets don't need hay, straw or sawdust. These products tend to be dusty and ferrets tend to be asthmatic. Not a good combination. If you want to cover the bottom of the cage with something, use towels or blankets.

Ferrets don't really care where you hang their hammock, as long as they can easily climb in and it isn't hung too close to their toilet. They do like to hide away sometimes, so if you have an open hammock (some are shaped into tunnels to hide in), hang it a corner or a closed area of the cage where not everyone can stare at them. Also, give them more than just one place to sleep. More hammocks, blankets and baskets will always make a ferret happy.

Place the litterbox in a corner, as this is the usual place a ferret will do his business. If your cage has multiple levels, make sure each level has a litterbox. And you might want to attach the box to the cage, because your ferret will' try to find out what's behind it. And under it. And beside it. You get the point. Litter everywhere.

Place the food and water wherever you like, but like the sleeping places, not near the litterbox. You don't usually eat your burger in the bathroom, right? Just like everything else, if you have multiple levels in your cage, give your ferrets more than one place to eat and drink.

4

Add toys if desired. You can give your ferret toys to play with in their cage, but since ferrets sleep about 18 hours per day, they won't play with the toys a lot. It is best to save the toys for playtime; they will be more excited about it.